In relays of this type, the rows of contacts of the contact set are separated from each other either only by air paths or by movable or fixed ribs. Usually, an actuator is disposed between the ribs. The actuator is designed T-shaped or U-shaped and which is supported on the armature and on the movable parts.
EP 0 634 767 B1 discloses a relay having a contact set. In FIG. 2, the relay is shown with a cover and a spring bracket.
Two fixed partitions are disposed in each case on the cover and two fixed partitions are also disposed on the spring bracket situated thereunder. Between these partitions, a movable horizontal actuator having a vertical flange is disposed. The vertical flange is disposed between the partitions, partially covering the partitions of the cover and of the spring bracket. This achieves an isolation between the rows of contacts.
According to the prior art, it is therefore known that both the cover and the spring bracket have fixed vertical partitions, a movable actuator having at least one vertical flange being disposed therebetween. The desired isolation distance is therefore achieved by means of the fixed partitions and the movable vertical flange of the actuator.
With the subject matter of EP 0 192 928 A1, an electromagnetic relay according to the preamble of independent claims 1 to 3 has become known in which the partitions 25 provided on the cover extend over the partitions 23 provided on the spring bracket. The actuator, however, is disposed outside this space between the partitions provided on the cover and on the spring bracket, on the side wall of the cover. This results in a very space-consuming design, as the actuators are disposed on the outside of the mutually overlapping partitions, thus resulting in a very wide housing design. The drive of the actuator is disposed between the partitions in the center of the interior of the spring bracket, which is associated with the drawback that this makes the housing very wide. The contacts are disposed on the actuator actuating the contact springs. The actuator therefore is also the contact carrier. The actuator therefore cannot provide any additional isolating effect between the active and the passive contact springs. If unwanted contact erosion occurs in the region of the contact sets, unwanted malfunctions can occur, such as contact closure within a contact.
EP 0 954 001 A1, which relates to a similar electromagnetic relay, shows only a very short partition 71 provided on the cover that projects into the interior of the relay and engages into a V-shaped upwardly open groove 49 of two short V-shaped partitions 63 disposed on the top side of the spring bracket. This is associated with the drawback that no protection of the contacts is provided at all by the partition provided on the cover and the partitions provided on the spring bracket.
From DE 34 37 544 C2, a low-voltage relay has become known in which only a middle divider 26 is disposed between two contact chambers that engages with the lower free end thereof into a corresponding V-shaped, upwardly open groove between two legs on a spring bracket.
Each contact chamber houses one contact. The actuator is designed as a galvanically conductive element, and the contacts in the two contact chambers therefore are galvanically connected to one another. The middle divider 26 does in fact also have the function of preventing contact erosion from entering from one side into the other, but since the contacts of one chamber are galvanically connected to the contacts of the other chamber, isolation between the contacts on one side of the chamber and the contacts on the other side of the chamber is of no significance, as these are contacts that are galvanically connected to each other.
FIG. 1 shows an isolation configuration for a relay according to the prior art. The isolation configuration 1 substantially comprises a cover 2 and an opposed spring bracket 3.
On the cover 2, a vertically downwardly extending first partition 5 is disposed. The opposed spring bracket has a partition 6 extending vertically upward toward the cover. A movable actuator 4 is disposed between the two components that are the cover 2 and the spring bracket 3 and the associated partitions 5 and 6. The actuator 4 has two vertical flanges 7 that surround the two partitions 5 and 6. In the present embodiment, the isolation of the contact set is achieved via the two partitions 5 and 6 and the two flanges 7 of the movable actuator 4.
FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment according to the prior art. Here, the flanges 7 of the actuator are movably disposed between the vertical partitions 5 and 5′ of the cover 2 and the partitions 6 and 6′ of the spring bracket 3. This is the reversal of the embodiment according to FIG. 1, because there the flanges 7 and 7′ enclose the individual partitions 5 and 6.
The at least one actuator 4 is a part of the isolation configuration and acts as isolating separation between the two contact rows 11, 12. It is moved in the direction perpendicular to the drawing plane of the figures in the directions of arrow 10. In the prior art, the actuator 4 is integrated in a disadvantageous manner by the flange 7 thereof according to FIG. 2 or the flanges 7, 7′ according to FIG. 1 into the isolation configuration and deteriorates the leakage-current properties and isolation properties of the relay, as the insulating overlap of the stationary opposing partitions provided on the cover and on the spring bracket is deteriorated by the actuator 4 movable therebetween.